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January 21, 2008

A Summer With The King Family

A Summer With The King Family

Today, more than half a million Americans are beginning "40 Days of Service" - a national event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's commitment to service.

Nearly 50 years ago, Gurdon Brewster witnessed first-hand the King family's dedication to service. In the summer of 1961 when he was a seminary student, Gurdon volunteered to work at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He stayed with Dr. King's father, Daddy King.

As a white northerner in the South, Gurdon struggled with two kinds of discrimination that summer - from both African-American parishioners and his fellow white clergymen. He talks with Dick Gordon about his experiences in the pulpit, and his many one-on-one talks with Daddy King over breakfast - as well as the conversation he had with Dr. King about the art of loving your enemies.

Min Min Htun grew up in Myanmar. He fled to the U.S. because his involvement in the student demonstrations of 1996 had put him and his family in danger. At a meeting of the local Burmese refugee population, he saw someone who looked familiar. It turned out to be his cousin, Tin Lay Nwei. They had not seen each other in 10 years. Also on the show: a lesson about (dis)respect from a famous actor.

Rumors are circulating about the condition of Yemen's president - in Yemen. Hamza Shargabi is a young surgeon there. He’s spent the last few weeks in the streets of the capital, Sana, calling for regime change and tending to the wounded protesters. Hamza also decided to tweet and videotape the revolution, explaining Yemen to the world.

Fifty years ago this summer, Virginia Williams and six other young African Americans walked into a segregated ice cream parlor in Durham, N.C., sat down, and ordered ice cream. They were arrested and jailed. Guest host Aaron Henkin talks to Virginia about how she got involved with the "Durham Seven" - and what happened after their arrest.Also in this episode, lost and found recipes. And, going green.

Five years before the creation of Facebook, three undergrads at Stanford - Lawrence Gentilello, Aaron Bell and Tuyen Truong - started a similar website. But university officials were horrified that such information would be online and they forced the site to close. Dick Gordon talks with the three about the social network that could have been.Also in this episode: Mariem Masmoudi on the heart of the revolution. And a listener story about being locked in a closet.